Taiwan's Democracy is Dying by Andrew Kuo

Just watched the TV interview of the author. I am very surprised how young & humble he is. Props to his level-headness in analysis.

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Taiwan's Democracy is Dying

A Readers Commentary

Andrew Kuo

03/21/04: (ICH) -- The political party KMT (KuoMingTang) that is supported by the majority in the island is being hoodwinked by Chen Shui-bian's DPP (Democratic Progressive Party.)

There are a number of suspicious events just prior and after the election day, namely,

1. a mysterious assignation attempt on Chen Shui-bian 17 hours before the
voting commenced. It has been unclear to what had happened. The officials
are unable to offer a reasonable scenario. The event clearly boosted
president's support, and may very well be a setup.

2. The ballot advantage the president has in the resulting amount to merely
0.22% of the turn out of roughly 13 millions. What's more, the ballots that
are invalid (improperly marked usually) are 3% of the overall vote. In other
words, if only 10% out of the "invalid" votes for KMT are intentionally
dismissed, the result of the vote is reversed.

3. A week before the polls conducted by medias have all shown outnumbered
support for KMT, with margin 45% to 38% with remaining undecided. The polls
are then stopped according to the election law. The ensuing week has events
unraveling one after another all in favor of the KMT, because they show the
degree of corruption that is going on for DPP in it's first 4 years of
running the government. The resulting vote broke every expert's prediction,
across the board. The polls conducted by medias have been ongoing for
months, and have all shown similar levels of support throughout the
campaign. (can be verified)

4. The act of shooting cannot be put together for a reasonable picture due
to conflicting evidences, such as:

4.1 the crime scene took place when thousands of supports are cheering
Chen's motorcade parade, on a narrow road surface that can barely fit two
car width. Due to the turn out of the supporters, numbering 10s of thousands
crowded in the street.

4.2 official investigator claims two shots fired, with a modified (home
made) semi-auto pistol. Was able to land on both candidates, one shot each.
Causing either of them minor wounds. Official deducts that since bullets and
casing/shell's "trajectory" analysis indicate the weapon is homemade, the
shot has to be in close distance (no more than 10m) in order to be this
accurate. However, the culprit were able to fire not one but two shots,
without anyone's noticing?? (10s of thousands were present)

4.3 more ridiculously, not even the president noticed being shot, he
claims he didn't feel pain until 10 minutes later when the culprit has
safely exit the scene (so no one has been caught yet).

4.4 talk about absurd, here is one more... one shot registered on the
front windshield of the car Chen is in. Chen is in second row, another
person sit in the front of him, who is a major or local city official, yet
the magic bullet did not harm the this person. Nor did he notice it! Again!
Until later when the president realized, oh!, I was shot, 10 minutes after
shots were fired. You may want to re-read what I am describing because we
just cannot believe this bold faced lie!

4.5 If you read more and see the photos of the parade, you will see the
resulting wounds on both Chen and his VP candidate cannot be easily
explained. Chen's belly was hit side way, opening a wound measuring 3/4 inch
wide, 5 inch long, and 1/2 inch deep cut. So the bullet scraped him from
right to left. But the bullet hole on the windshield indicate that the
bullet should have penetrated his belly from head on direction. Not
surprisingly, Officials developed a few versions to try and explain away the
inconsistencies, e.g.. the bullet that made the hole on windshield is not
the one hit the president, but hit the VP's right knee when she is sitting
down at the time (angle, trajectory analysis make this seems impossible), or
another version, the car is turning corner and president was waving sideway
(this cannot be, because if the car is not moving on a straight line, the
assassin cannot possibly made 2 hit out of 2 shots on each target, it's a
miracle worthy of Tiger's two hole in one on 17th and 18th hole).

4.6 Sorry for keep going about the inconsistencies, because there are just
way too many!

4.7 President Chen and officials said the bullet that scraped him actually
enters his jacket, causing a clean wound (therefore evident of the bullet
velocity) and then trapped by the same nylon jacket again! Magic jacket,
it's not even Kevlar!

4.8 At the same time, the director/leading doctor of ER team of the
hospital, was presenting the X-ray of the president to the press conference,
with a metal object/implying bullets in the abdominal region of the person
(supposedly Chen himself). This obviously can't make sense when 4.7 is
claimed at the same time!

4.9 Chen was smiling as usual, waving to supporters without an slightest
sign of discomfort. With a wound opening this large (0.75X5.0X0.5 inches!)
and still able to carry out quite normally, is beyond comprehension.

4.10 the hospital where Chen sought emergency care is not a designated
hospital in the emergency pre-planning for the emergency events such as
this. At the same time, it is not the closest hospitals in the vicinity,
but it's 6km away from where president realized he's shot. Two closer
hospitals were there at the time.

4.11 Expectedly, the hospital treating Chen is decidedly pro-DPP, owned by
pro-DPP corporation, Chi-Mei, this is acknowledged by the public if you ask
anyone in Taiwan. The hospital's staff were notified on 3/18 to mobilize
without reason. (shot took place on 3/19, whereas vote on 3/20)

4.12 Chen and officials claim the bullet that wounded him is trapped in
the jacket. And they have stopped a bullet for Taiwan! How brave and equally
patriotic on par with Bush's landing on carrier.

4.13 The wounds on both "victim" or "actors", are both minor, as
acknowledged by Chen themselves, but the official did not announce the
condition of the president and VP until 3 hours later, allow time for panic
and rumors to run rampant.

4.14 No one is allowed to see Chen while being treated, and the operating
room was sealed off, and the camera tapes is bared from release.

5. After the incident, Chen and his officials activated "GuaAnn" policies,
or homeland security, so that the troops are put on high alert, and cannot
leave their post. Maybe couldn't made the trip to their designated voting
station next day. It is widely accepted that soldiers are among the most
supportive for KMT and against Chen, because their parents and grand parents
are the same group who fled to Taiwan in 1949 with ChiangKaiSheik when
R.O.C. retreated from mainland. Chen effectively blocked them from voting
for the KMT candidate. (I am not sure if Homeland Security was still in
effect the next day, but it's very likely, hey why not?)

6. I would like to offer my own version of what might happened with the
assassination. President Chen has a "blood pack" in his jacket pocket (used
by Hollywood movies since 1930s?), activated by his conspirators. His 10min
delayed realization could be either 1. he was nervous and didn't aware that
the act is underway 2. He was nervous as to what to act, not enough
rehearsal perhaps, and didn't act thinking through it moments later. So,
the wound did not really register. They ferried him to a friendly, already
secured hospital, locked him with all the security people inside emergency
room. The real operation started. They lay him on the operation table,
locally anesthetized abdominal area, and used a silenced gun to produce a
side way wound scraping the belling to make it authentic. They have to show
the wound somehow in later investigation, so they make the most doable fake
shot - a perfect side way scratch! They collected the bullet, claim its
found in Chen's jacket, saying look, the blood on the bullet matched. It's
real. And during the 3 hours of frantic action within the operating room,
various proposals of "story" were prepared, including a bullet showing X-ray
by placing a bullet above Chen while taking a X-ray photo. This photo was
later unwittingly presented when it shouldn't because the story they went
with is supposed to be sideway scratching shot. Ironically, the culprit is
not caught on camera anywhere during the usual continuous TV coverage of
Chen's tour made possible by Chen's government resources. Then the culprit
was able to get away unnoticed by thousands of people. The shells of his
two shots were promptly found where he allegedly fired them. Those were of
course dropped there by the aids, after the operating room operation.

7. By late afternoon, after circumstance clears up after the official
announcement, one leading lady advocate at the KMT camp took the bait of
questioning the alleged assassination, which is promptly and fiercely
attacked by DPP's Taipei County head official (not Taipei City Mayor, who is
KMT) for not being a patriot. The narrow lead of 8 to 10% enjoyed by KMT is
prompted reduced to maybe 1 or 2 percent when DPP members engaged in an
all-out mouth-to-mouth propaganda campaign.

8. By late evening, close to midnight, after Chen turned away KMT's
candidate, Lien's request for visiting Chen and make sure he is alright,
saying he already went to rest. But then he subsequently went to the TV
station, and broadcast the message to the entire island, that he is strong
and healthy, claiming the limelight all to himself in the nigh hour of
election.

9. 16 hours later, election had completed, and counts were underway. The
end result is Chen's vote (DPP) edged Lien (KMT) by mere 0.22% with invalid
votes tally 3% of overall 13 million votes! Yet they went ahead and claimed
victory after dust had settled. The opposition has been gentle in
approaching the public with their message all along, cannot be shuffled
anymore, and demand the recount and the sealing of all votes. But despite
any recounting that might prove that Lien actually won narrowly, the damage
is done, because Lien couldn't have gotten more de facto validation from the
voting public.


Finally, I want to tell the friends at Democracy Now, I am a avid follower
of today's world events, also depend on your no non-sense daily coverage. I
am aware that 911 is unsolved mystery too, that Iraq war and Afghan war are
both preplanned, and has nothing to do with 911. At the same time, the
daring policies implemented by US are out of the play book of the group
called Neocons, with their "Project for New American Century" as the brain
child and their think tank outlet. Please browse through their articles for
analysis on China/Taiwan issues here
http://www.newamericancentury.org/eastasia.htm You will see that, they
completely support the referendum for Taiwanese independence, which is
patented in DPP's party bylaw! The Neocons are hell bent on creating a East
Germany for China, so the two can fight their death duel while the world
look on, cheering privately. This is NOT what the majority of the Taiwanese
people want (meaning at 55% or 60%), as demonstrated by the shoe-in
referendum that held on the same day as the president election. The
referendum asks Q1 "Should we buy more weapons from US to bolster our
defense to counter Chinese threat?" And Q2 "Should we negotiate with
Chinese for a peaceful resolution?" These two are ridiculous questions, if
Taiwanese goes independence, Chinese will not negotiate, I even support such
action, being a native Taiwanese. Nor will China drop their missile
installation along the Taiwan Strait as a deterrent for such move by
Taiwanese DPP supporters simply because the Q1 or Q2 referendum are passed!
To expect so is naive!

The voters demonstrated their intelligence by
negating the validity of this referendum by not casting a vote at all. By
legislation, when the voting turn out is less than half of eligible voters,
the referendum is nullified, which is the case this time. Roughly 6.5
million people cast their referendum vote (including yes or no) out of
eligible voter base of 16 million. In other words, the opposition party, KMT
has successfully mounted a superb counter punch (with the help of the
public) to prevent any flare-up in cross strait relationship. Saying all
these is trying to point out, DPP share the same vision as US conspirators,
the neocons, as evident in their past articles (see the link for yourself),
and they are trying to take away democratic process, hijack it for their
purpose, just as they do in the US, in Venezuela, Haiti, and countless other
places!

The world cannot let them succeed! The world has to wake up to this gross
injustice being played on the Taiwanese people, this is a disgrace for a
people who has been lauded as the light of hope of democracy to take root in
Asia. The "Democratic Progressive Party" in the end will become the
"Democratic Terminator Party"! President Chen, touted by supporters as "Son
of Taiwan", has clearly failed in his tenure in the past four years to bring
peace between China and Taiwan, justice for crimes and corruptions committed
in the past, end of money corruption in government, his wife playing stock
market making winning trades left and right while entire population lose!
It would be an outrage for them to be able to steal the election away from
people's true choice with a cheap shot, disgusting shooting drama. Please
help, the faint flame of hope is dying!!! Please get the word out (after
your own investigation) so the world and be the guardian of 22 million
people on the island of Taiwan.

By focusing the attention on Taiwan's unfair, unjust election, the world can
help keep perpetrators at bay and honest in any recounting process, focusing
a beam of light on those who have no respect for true democracy but a real
intention on manipulating the public opinion for whatever their self-serving
intentions might be. Please help spread the word and create entire world's
outrage rightfully just as now the Bush's lies on Iraqi WMD are exposed and
the people all over the world are demanding the truth!

© 2004: Andrew Kuo. <kandrew@foundrynet.com>